Authentication, Authorization, and Security Boundary Review Security architecture is reviewed as a chain. Each layer must still make an independent, explicit decision after later refactors and performance work.
Supabase - - - Membership / - - Business JWT verification TaskFlow User Resource scope session > > > permission > > operation
Security regression checks • No controller accepts userId from the browser as authenticated identity.
• NestJS still verifies bearer tokens independently of the Next.js session.
• Tenant scope is part of repository/database queries before ordinary search, sorting, or pagination.
• Realtime and Storage policies do not replace NestJS business authorization.
• Service-role/database credentials remain server-only and are redacted from logs.
Refactoring rule • When moving code, preserve the security decision point. A cleaner abstraction that accidentally broadens access is not an architectural improvement. Authorization is behavior. Every structural refactor needs security regression coverage. Source basis: integrated TaskFlow architecture and engineering decisions established in Phases 00-34; this chapter is an internal review/refactoring synthesis rather than a new framework feature.
Authorization decides what an authenticated identity may do to a specific resource. UI hiding is never a substitute for server-side enforcement.
Restate the goal of “Authentication Authorization and Security Boundary Review” as one observable behavior. Write the success signal before touching code.
Trace the boundary map: trusted identity → requested action → resource scope → policy decision → allow/deny. Mark the one boundary this lesson changes.
Inspect the current repository state and record the exact files, route, table, or runtime involved. Avoid creating an abstraction before you can name the existing owner.
Implement the smallest vertical slice. Add one coherent change, run the narrowest verification command, and read the output before continuing.
Connect the slice to TaskFlow’s phase artifact: Architecture review report plus one behavior-preserving refactor backed by tests and an ADR.. Verify behavior from the outside as a user or API client would.
Create one controlled failure that is safe to reproduce. Predict the symptom first, capture evidence, locate the earliest broken boundary, then fix only that cause.
Close the reference and rebuild or explain the core change from memory. Record what you would monitor or test before trusting the same change in production.
const canEdit =
user.role === "ADMIN" ||
(user.role === "MEMBER" && task.ownerId === user.id);
if (!canEdit) throw new ForbiddenException();Do not copy this as a finished answer. Predict what each boundary does, type the smallest useful slice, run it, then compare the result with your prediction.
Trace verified identity, role, resource owner/workspace, and policy inputs separately.
Add server-side resource authorization; UI visibility is only experience, never enforcement.
Without copying the final source, create a second small scenario that applies “Authentication Authorization and Security Boundary Review” to a different TaskFlow resource or input. Write the acceptance criteria first, implement it, and provide the evidence that each criterion is satisfied.
Draw the current dependency graph from UI to database and mark places responsibilities leak across boundaries.
Use the smallest change that demonstrates this lesson. Stop after it works and capture evidence.Adding layers because they look enterprise
Predict the symptom before causing the failure. Then locate the earliest boundary where reality diverges from expectation.Why does this responsibility live here, what input does it trust, what output proves success, and what would go wrong if another layer owned it?
If your explanation is vague, repeat the boundary trace before moving on.Close the reference. Reproduce the core idea from memory or explain the exact request/data flow aloud. Then check your diff or notes for accidental shortcuts that bypass validation, authorization, error handling, or verification earned in earlier phases.